Dry mop incorporating foamed plastic



Nov. 19, 1968 L O BERRINGTON ET AL 3,411,173

DRY MOP INCORPORATING FOAMED PLASTIC Filed Jan. 12; 1967 United States Patent 3,411,173 DRY MOP INCORPORATING FOAMED PLASTIC Louis 0. Berrington, 1254 N. June, Hollywood, Calif.

90028, and Bertie B. Cutler, 38550 Florence St., Beaumont, Calif. 92223 Filed Jan. 12, 1967, Ser. No. 608,937 4 Claims. (Cl. -231) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention provides a manually operable cleaning device wherein a disposable sheet such as a paper towel is backed by two coextensive layers of resilient foamed plastic that are centrally longitudinally united to form two longitudinal side slits. Paper toweling encases all of the longitudinal surfaces of the two layers to make all of the longitudinal surfaces available for cleaning operations. Marginal portions of the paper toweling are tucked into at least one of the two longitudinal slits to hold the paper toweling in place.

Background of the invention It is old in the art to provide a cleaning device to releasably hold a disposable sheet of absorbent paper for application of the paper to a surface that is to be cleaned. Such devices are shown, for example, in the Bates Patent 2,226,654 and the Smith Patent 2,916,759. For most cleaning purposes none of these prior art cleaning devices approach the efficiency that is accomplished by simply applying such a paper sheet to a cleaning task by hand, for example, by manually applying a sheet of absorbent paper to clean an automobile windshield.

One disadvantage of applying a sheet of absorbent paper to a cleaning task by hand is that the hand applies pressure to such a small area of the paper sheet and does so in an uneven manner. Another disadvantage is that substantial muscular effort is required to maintain the pressure. The problem is to provide a device that will distribute pressure uniformly over a larger area of a paper sheet and to provide such a device that may be operated with only a moderate amount of muscular effort. The present invention meets this need.

Summary of the invention It has been found that the aforementioned requirements may be met by providing a thick layer of resilient foamed plastic to back up the disposable sheet and by further providing a rigid support to back up the foamed plastic. Both the foamed plastic and the rigid support are necessary because of the manner in which they cooperate to apply the sheet of paper to a surface that is to be cleaned. The rigid support, which may be of any desired dimensions, serves not only as a support but also as a pressure applying means that is effective over as large an area as may be desired. The layer of resilient foamed plastic serves as means to transmit the pressure to the sheet of paper and to distribute the pressure in a uniform manner over the area of the sheet. In addition the layer of resilient foamed plastic is yielding to conform to irregularities in the surface that is to be cleaned.

In the preferred practice of the invention, the rigid support is simply a rectangular wooden block of appropriate dimensions with the resilient foamed plastic forming a layer on the underside of the block and with suitable provision for releasably holding a sheet of paper or the like with the sheet extending across the bottom surface of the layer of foamed plastic.

A feature of the preferred practice of the invention is that the foamed plastic and the sheet of paper that encases the foamed plastic are turned upward over the op- Patented Nov. 19, 1968 posite ends of the wooden support block so that the turned up ends are additionally available for cleaning operations.

A further and important feature of the preferred embodiment of the invention is the concept of wrapping a disposable sheet of paper around a resilient foamed plastic means with the sheet of paper covering the opposite faces of the foamed plastic means and with means provided to releasably and reversibly attach the opposite ends of the foamed plastic means to the support block. Such an arrangement is advantageous in that when one area of the sheet material covering one face of the resilient foamed plastic means becomes unduly soiled it is a simple matter to disconnect and reverse the foamed plas tic means to expose another area of sheet material to continue the cleaning operation.

The features and adavntages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

Brief description of the drawings FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodimeans disconnected from the support block;

FIG. 2 is a transverse section along the line 22 of FIG. 1, the sectional view showing how a single sheet of paper may be wrapped around the foamed plastic means to provide two different areas of the sheet material that may be used alternately;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view on a reduced scale showing the foamed plastic means disconnected from the support block and illustrating the first step in mounting a sheet of disposable material on the foamed plastic means; and

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view showing how two separate sheets instead of one sheet may be mounted on the foamed plastic means to provide the two areas of sheet material that may be used alternately for cleaning operations.

Description of the preferred embodiment The selected embodiment of the invention comprises a rigid support means or layer in the form of a block of wood 10 and resilient foamed plastic means, generally designated by the numeral 12, which carries disposable paper sheet material 14. The wooden block 10 may be of the dimensions of a large hand brush and, if desired, may be manipulated in the manner of a large hand brush to carry out a cleaning operation. In this particular embodiment of the invention, however, the wooden block 10 has an inclined bore 15 in which is mounted one end of a relatively long straight wooden handle 16 which permits the device to be manipulated in the manner of a mop.

The foamed plastic means 12 comprises an assembly of two separate strips or layers 12a and 12b of foamed plastic material, the two strips being of identical di mensions and being tapered as shown at their opposite ends. Interposed between the two layers 12a and 12b is a suitable flexible strap 18 made of relatively tough plastic material with the two foamed plastic strips 12a and 12b adhesively bonded to the opposite faces of the strap. Thus the strap 18 serves as means to interconnect the two foamed plastic strips along a central longitudinal zone. This construction provides the foamed plastic means with two longitudinal slits 20 along its two opposite longitudinal sides respectively to receive and engage marginal portions of disposable sheet material.

Within the scope of the invention, the opposite end portions of the dual layer foamed plastic means 12 may be attached to the wooden block 10 in various Ways with the main portion of the foamed plastic means extending under the wooden block. rIn this particular embodiment of the invention, the two foamed plastic strips 12a and 12b are interconnected at each end by a special grommet 22, each end of the grommet incorporating a snap fastener socket 24. The wooden block has two corresponding snap fastener studs 25 in the form of wooden screws. Thus each grommet 22 may make snap engagement at either of its two ends with a stud 25 on the wooden block.

FIG. 3 shows the foamed plastic means 12 disconnected and separated from the support block 10 for the purpose of applying a fresh sheet of paper to the foamed plastic means. In this instance it is contemplated that a single sheet of paper 14 will be wrapped around both of the two foamed plastic strips 12a and 12b. FIG. 2 shows two opposite margins 26 of the sheet of paper 14 inserted into one of the longitudinal slits of the dual layer foamed plastic means 12. One portion 28 of the paper sheet 14 extends under the lower foamed plastic strip 12b; an adjacent portion 30 extends upward over side edges of the two foamed plastic strips; and a third portion 32 of the sheet extends across the upper face of the upper foamed plastic strip 12a. FIG. 3 shows how the sheet 14 is positioned intially with one margin of the sheet extending into one of the two slits 20. Once the paper sheet is mounted on the dual layer foamed plastic means in the manner indicated, it is a simple matter to snap the two grommets 22 in engagement with the two studs 25 for the purpose of readying the device for a cleaning operation. Preferably, two end portions 34 of the strap 18 extend beyond the foamed plastic means 12 to serve as flexible handles to facilitate the final assembly operation.

FIG. 4 shows how two separate sheets of paper 35 and 36 may be used instead of one sheet of paper. The sheet of paper 35 extends over the upper surf-ace of the upper foamed plastic strip 12a with the opposite margins of the sheet of paper tucked into the two longitudinal slits 20, respectively on the opposite sides of the dual layer foamed plastic means. In like manner, the second sheet of paper 36 extends around the bottom face of the bottom foamed plastic layer 12b with its two opposite margins tucked into the two slits 20, respectively.

It is apparent in FIG. -1 that the wooden block 10 serves as a rigid pressure means and the two foamed plastic strips 12a and 12b function as resilient means for transmitting the pressure to the lowermost layer of paper in a uniform manner. It is also apparent from FIG. 1 that the turned up end portions of the two foamed plastic strips at the opposite ends of the block may be used for cleaning purposes and are especially useful for cleaning concave surfaces. It is also apparent that the handle 16 may be removed to permit the device to be manipulated in the manner of a large hand brush.

When the area of paper on the underside of the foamed plastic strip 12b is used up or becomes unduly soiled, it is a simple matter to disengage the two grommets 22 from the two studs 25 for the purpose of reversing the two foamed plastic strips to expose a second area of the paper sheet material for the cleaning operation.

Our description in specific detail of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention will suggest various changes, substitutions and other departures from our disclosure within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a device of the character described for releasably holding disposable absorbent sheet material for a cleaning operation, the combination of:

a rigid support adapted for manual manipulation;

resilient foamed plastic means having a main portion extending across the bottom of said support and having two opposite end portions extending upward over opposite ends of the support;

means to releasably anchor opposite edges of the sheet material relative to the support with a portion of the sheet material extending across the bottom surface of said main portion of the resilient means and over the upwardly extending end portions of the resilient means;

said releasable anchor means being adapted to hold said sheet material in position with a second portion of the sheet material extending over the upper surface of said main portion of the resilient means and over the inner surfaces of the upwardly extending end portions of the resilient means; and

said resilient means being reversably mounted on the rigid support to permit said two portions of the sheet material to be exposed alternately at the exterior of the device for cleaning operations.

2. A combination as set forth in claim 1 in which said resilient means has longitudinal slits along two opposite side edges thereof to receive and releasably engage the sheet material.

3. In a cleaning device of the character described, the combination of:

a rigid support having a relatively long handle at an acute angle relative thereto;

an assembly of two substantially coextensive layers of foamed plastic mounted on said rigid support;

each of said layers having a relatively wide longitudinal surface and two narrower opposite longitudinal side surfaces, all of said longitudinal surfaces being available for cleaning operations;

said two layers being united with each other in a central longitudinal region that is spaced inwardly from the opposite side edges of the two layers to form two longitudinal slits on the opposite sides respectively of the assembly;

whereby all of said longitudinal surfaces may be covered by a single sheet with the single sheet covering and concealing one of said longitudinal slits and with opposite margins of the single sheet tucked into the other longitudinal slit to keep the sheet in place; and

or whereby all of said longitudinal surfaces may be covered by two separate cleaning sheets, one of the two cleaning sheets covering the longitudinal surface and the two longitudinal side surfaces of one of the layers with opposite margins of the sheet tucked into said two slits respectively, the second sheet of the two sheets covering the wide longitudinal surface and the two narrower opposite longitudinal side surfaces of the second layer with opposite margins of the second sheet tucked into the two longitudinal slits respectively to hold the second cleaning sheet in place.

4. In a cleaning device of the character described, the

combination of:

a rigid support having a relatively long handle at an acute angle relative thereto;

an assembly of two substantially coextensive layers of foamed plastic mounted on said rigid support and united with each other in a central longitudinal zone that is spaced inwardly from the opposite side edges of the two layers whereby the two layers form two longitudinal slits on opposite sides of the assembly;

each of said layers having a relatively wide longitudinal surface and two narrower opposite longitudinal side surfaces, all of said longitudinal surfaces being available for cleaning operations;

a flexible cleaning sheet covering said longitudinal surfaces of one of the two layers with opposite margins of the sheet tucked into the two longitudinal slits respectively to hold the sheet in place; and

a second flexible cleaning sheet covering the longitudinal surfaces of the other of the two layers with opposite margins of the sheet tucked into the two longitudinal slits, respectively, to hold the second sheet in place.

(References on following page) 5 6 References Cited 3,056,989 10/1962 Murphy 15-231 3,083,392 4/1963 Sewell 15-231 XR UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,129,540 4/1964 Valles 15-231 6 9 5 N w n 51371 3,199,136 8/1965 George 15 z31 2,919,457 1/1960 Cole 15231 2,977,619 4/1961 Franzene. DANIEL BLUM, Primary Examiner. 

